Tunisia’s coalition government agreed on Saturday to resign, with possible negotiations next week with opponents to form a caretaker administration and prepare for new elections.

[UPDATE: The Prime Minister’s media advisor has now denied the news, saying there is no statement of the Government’s intention to resign.]

The talks seeks to end weeks of tension over the government, led by the Islamist party Ennadha, that threatened to undermine political transition after the overthrow of the Ben Ali regime in 2011.

The UGTT labour union, mediating between the two sides, proposed that Ennadha agree to three weeks of negotiations, after which it would step down and make way for an independent transitional administration and set a date for Parliamentary and Presidential elections.

“The dialogue will start on Monday or Tuesday,” Lotfi Zitoun, an Ennahda party official, said. “Ennahda has accepted the plan without conditions to get the country out of the political crisis.”

The UGTT confirmed the agreement and called on both sides to set a time to begin talks next week.

Political tensions escalated after the killing of a second opposition leader in six months.

On Thursday, thousands of Tunisians protested in several cities, calling for the Government to step down.